Just in time for opening day, Major League Baseball’s owners on Wednesday unanimously approved the transfer of a controlling stake in the Orioles from the Angelos family, the team’s longtime owners, to a group led by Baltimore native and billionaire David Rubenstein. The vote was the final step in a weekslong process, making Rubenstein the team’s control person, or lead decision-maker, and taking the team out of the Angelos family’s hands for the first time since 1993. “I congratulate David Rubenstein on receiving approval from the Major League Clubs as the new control person of the Orioles,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “As a Baltimore native and a lifelong fan of the team, David is uniquely suited to lead the Orioles moving forward. We welcome David and his partners as the new stewards of the franchise.” Rubenstein is the team’s fifth owner since the club moved to Baltimore in 1954. “I hope to be successful in the sense that the fans are happy with the product that’s put on the field,” Rubenstein said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. He said he wants fans to “get good value” for their money, feel “that going to the ballgame is a good experience” and “have success on the field.” My video message to fans…the Next Chapter starts now: — David M. Rubenstein (@DM_Rubenstein) Rubenstein, 74, founded the Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, in 1987, and is worth $3.9 billion, according to Forbes. A City College graduate, he grew up playing Little League in Baltimore. The transaction, which includes the , the regional TV home of the Orioles and
Washington Nationals, values the club and its assets at $1.725 billion. Rubenstein said the deal resulted from in which Angelos expressed interest in selling a piece of the team. Rubenstein said he sought a controlling interest instead, and Angelos eventually agreed to that. Rubenstein inherits a lease negotiated with the stadium authority and approved by the Board of Public Works in December — just a couple of weeks before it was set to expire. The lease keeps the club at state-owned Oriole Park at Camden Yards and frees up roughly $400 million in state investment to the ballpark. If the state and the team can agree to develop public land around the ballpark, including the B&O Warehouse, by the end of 2027, the lease would extend to 30 years, which would unlock more state money for stadium improvements. John Angelos had been interested in developing that land and, last year, he and Gov. Wes Moore to study its adjacent entertainment district. Rubenstein said in the interview that he won’t exercise an option to end the team’s stadium lease after 15 years and plans instead to negotiate a development rights deal with the state and commit the club to Baltimore for 30 years. He said he met recently with Gov. Moore and that the governor is on board with negotiating a plan to redevelop the area around Camden Yards and ensuring the lease extends for the full, 30-year term and that there is no opt-out. Rubenstein said he will attend “as many games as I realistically can.” He hopes to mingle with fans during Thursday’s opener against the
Los Angeles Angels, sitting in the stands rather than the owner’s box. Rubenstein was interviewed Sunday on condition that his remarks not be published until MLB approved the sale so that he would not appear to get ahead of the process. Peter Angelos, the 94-year-old attorney who , bought the Orioles for $173 million and was an active owner for decades. But as his health declined in recent years, his son John took control of the club. “I thank our entire partnership group and our talented front office team for their confidence and support of my efforts to restore the Orioles to elite status in Major League Baseball, to renew and extend our long-term partnership in Baltimore so that the next generation of Marylanders will grow up enjoying the Birds of Baltimore, and to transition stewardship of the Club to David and his partnership group,” John Angelos said in a statement. “Capping our organizational turnaround with a championship in perhaps the toughest division in sports, while fulfilling my pledge that the O’s would forever play ball in Charm City, dovetails perfectly with the privilege to now pass stewardship of Baltimore’s iconic team to a Baltimore native, passionate American, and celebrated philanthropist in David Rubenstein. “The Orioles are in great hands, and the Club, as well as the City and State that it calls home, are well positioned for success into the future.” In recent years, the team endured a since-settled, intra-family court battle over Angelos family assets and three 100-plus loss seasons. In 2018, the family hired executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, . The Orioles won 101 games and the
American League East last year, and the team, loaded with young talent, figures to be a playoff contender for the foreseeable future. Over the past three years, the Orioles have had
baseball America’s No. 1 prospect (Adley Rutschman in 2022, Gunnar Henderson in 2023 and, this year, Jackson Holliday), marking the first such three-peat for any MLB organization. Elias “has done a wonderful
Job,” Rubenstein said. Rubenstein’s agreement to purchase the team has been weaving through necessary approvals since January. The entity he used to purchase the team — Inner Harbor Sports LLC — was created in Delaware on Jan. 11 and, later that month, news broke of an agreement between a Rubenstein-led group and the Angelos family. In February, and in March, a committee of nine . The , as required by their lease with the Orioles, in a specially scheduled meeting. The new ownership group also , former
New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, former Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke,
basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill, Ares Management co-founder Michael Arougheti and Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang. The group will initially assume a roughly 40% ownership stake in the club with an agreement to purchase the remaining equity over time. David Rubenstein, founder and CEO of the private equity firm Carlyle Group, speaks about the market and recent economic woes at the SABEW conference. (André F. Chung/Staff file photo) Profile of David Rubenstein, the Baltimore-born businessman who is buying the Orioles. (Algerina Perna/Staff file photo) David Rubenstein, the Baltimore-born businessman, is shown in 2010. (Baltimore Sun file) 1993:
Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer, left, signs as Orioles general counsel and investor George P. Stamas, standing, Peter G. Angelos, and Thomas L. Clancey, Jr. look on at the announcement of the new ownership of Baltimore Orioles, Inc. beyond the right field wall outside the warehouse. (Karl Merton Ferron/staff) Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun Baltimore Sun photo by Kevin Richardson Orioles managing partner Peter Angelos told reporters and his players at the end of the club’s postseason run that he would do what was needed to ensure the team’s competitiveness in 2013. Doug Kapustin / Baltimore Sun Batlimore attorney and Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos (right) greeted Mayor Kurt Schmoke before a news conference downtown. Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles died Saturday. (Lloyd Fox/Staff) Gene Sweeney Jr. / Baltimore Sun It’s Orioles vs. Kansas City for opening day baseball, as Cal Ripken, Peter Angelos, and then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer pose for a picture after throwing out the first pitch. Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Orioles owner Peter Angelos (left) talked with Manager Sam Perlozzo (right) after the game. Principal investor author Thomas L. Clancey, Jr., left, and Peter G. Angelos, Chairman and Managing Partner of Baltimore Orioles, Inc. look at their new digs beyond the right field foul pole outside the warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Twenty-two people are listed as investors in the partnership of Orioles owners. Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Maryland’s governor at the time, Parris Glendening, speak at a news conference at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun John Angelos, chairman and CEO of the Baltimore Orioles listens to manager Brandon Hyde during spring training for the 2023 major league season at the Orioles’ Sarasota facility on Feb. 19, 2023. Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun Gov. Wes Moore, right, with Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos at 2023 season home opening day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. April 7, 2023. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun) Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun John Angelos (center) leaves the Circuit Court for Baltimore County in Towson with lawyer Steven Silverman following a hearing on who should control the assets of his father, Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun John Angelos, the son of Orioles majority team owner Peter Angelo, is pictured in 2016 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun Louis Angelos, left, and his brother John Angelos, right, with Mike Elias, whom they selected as the Orioles executive vice president and general manager. Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos hands a signed baseball to a fan before a Yankees game July 30, 2023, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos talks with reporters during 2023 spring training in Sarasota,
Florida. Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun Louis Angelos answers a question during a news conference to introduce Mike Elias as executive vice president and general manager of the Orioles. Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun Louis Angelos, left, and his brother, John Angelos, right, with Mike Elias, whom they selected as Orioles executive vice president and general manager, during a 2018 news conference at Camden Yards. Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun Louis Angelos (left) arrives Thursday at Baltimore County Circuit Court in Towson with lawyer Jeffrey E. Nusinov. Kevin Richardson / Baltimore Sun Louis Angelos attended a Maryland game against Penn State at College Park in 2019.